Island Med Student

I just returned from taking my two dogs to the veterinarian. These dogs were once puppies that I adopted while living in Dominica and taking my pre-clinical coursework. Over a year ago I wrote about an intensely emotional experience involving the death of another one of my puppies. Interestingly, the stress of med school had never brought me to my knees at that point, but the death of an animal, combined with other stressors really sent me on an emotional roller coaster.

As a child, I grew up on a dairy goat farm, and we had many other types of animals as well, including chickens, pigs, and many dogs and cats. I guess you could say that I grew up in a very animal-intense environment.

Okay, so now you’re thinking, “this is a blog about med school, not vet school, what does all this rambling have to do with human medicine?” Well, I actually happen to think it has a lot to do with it.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that being surrounded by animals all my life has definitely shaped my personality. I’ll even go as far as to say that it may have served to foster my compassion and ability to care for all living beings, humans included.

The two puppies that I adopted in Dominica turned out to be immensely valuable to me in medical school. I have fond memories of taking short breaks from studying to pet and cuddle my pups. Cuddling with them never failed to rejuvenate me when studying had sucked all the energy and life from my body and mind. And when I was stressed out about an upcoming exam, taking my pups for a walk on the beach or rubbing their bellies was always guaranteed to provide me with much needed stress relief.

You could assert that all this psycho babble about having dogs, or any pets for that matter, is a bunch of holistic mumbo jumbo. But the existing research actually supports my anecdotal evidence. Studies have shown that owning a pet can nurture both their owners’ physical and psychological well-being. Some of the medical benefits include lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improving survival rates after surgery, and decreasing the number of visits to the doctor. As for psychological health, pets can help people cope with stress, reduce rates of depression, and even reduce loneliness.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that while there are some disadvantages (cost, allergies, responsibilities, poop-scooping) to owning a pet, the benefits shouldn’t be underestimated. My now almost two-year-old doggies are proof enough to me that owning pets can have a myriad of wonderful rewards. And that’s exactly what I told myself when I signed the $900 credit card charge at the vet’s office tonight!

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